ClipVault
What you copy
stops disappearing.
The thing you just copied no longer overwrites the last one. Bring the history up with Ctrl+Shift+V, search it, and press Enter to paste into the window you were working in. Text, images, file paths — all of it, all on this PC.
Two histories means one of them is not yours
Windows keeps a clipboard history too. It writes down what you copy alongside ClipVault, and with sync on that second copy goes up to your Microsoft account and out to your other devices. Put the two paths the same Ctrl+C can take side by side.
Windows clipboard history (Win+V)
Plenty of people have it on without knowing
- Ctrl+CA password, an account number — exactly as copied
- Windows writes it into its own listNo credential handling · no excluded programs · no retention limit
- To your Microsoft account, and your other devicesIf sync is on. This is what organisations turn Win+V off over
ClipVault
Same key, different destination
- Ctrl+CIf it looks like a credential it is labelled and encrypted with DPAPI
- It goes into the vault on this PC%LOCALAPPDATA% · folder permissions locked to your account
- And that is where it endsNo request inside the program has anywhere to put a clip
So ClipVault checks Win+V for you. Every time the admin console's security page opens it asks Windows directly, and if it is on it takes you to the Windows page where the switch is. It does not change the setting for you — a false \u201coff\u201d is worse than an honest \u201con\u201d.
It remembers your clipboard, and gives it back
From the moment you copy to the moment you paste again, your hands never leave the keyboard.
Search by the fragment you remember
Type the middle of a word and it still matches. A SQLite FTS5 trigram index, so it reaches inside words that have no spaces.
- Several words mean AND —
report q3 - Hangul initials — ㅂㄱㅅ → 보고서
- Filters —
app:chromekind:image"exact phrase" - By where you pasted it, too —
to:codeis:here
Pasting takes one pass
The cursor is already in the search box when the list opens. Pick an entry, press Enter, and focus returns to your window with the text pasted.
- Alt+1–9 pastes that entry at once
- Ctrl+J pastes several entries in a row
- Paste transformed — tidy JSON, strip tracking parameters, table to Markdown and 17 in all
- A rule per app — into the terminal, on one line, automatically
Secrets are kept locked
Passwords, API keys, JWTs, card and national ID numbers are detected, stored encrypted with Windows DPAPI, and masked in the list.
- Copying the DB file alone gets you nothing readable
- The value shows only on Ctrl+R
- The clipboard clears itself after you paste
Frequent text, by abbreviation
Save a signature, an address or a reply template as a snippet, type ;sig in the search box and press Enter.
- Variables like
{date}and{clipboard}are filled in as it pastes - No global keyboard hook — nothing watches every keystroke
Tag it, keep it
Name clips with Ctrl+T and find them with tag:work.
- Tagged clips are left alone by automatic cleanup
- Tag many at once from the admin console
All three kinds recorded
Every copy is kept automatically. Copy the same thing again and it moves to the top instead of becoming a second entry.
- Text (any script, emoji included)
- Images (lossless PNG, pasted back untouched)
- File paths (as files in Explorer, as text in an editor)
What must not be recorded, isn't
ClipVault honours the exclusion marker password managers leave on the clipboard. If the marker is there, the content is never even read.
- Surer than a list of app names — it works for apps nobody listed
- KeePass · 1Password · banking security modules excluded by default
It tidies up by itself
Set 7 days, 30 days or forever, plus a clip and size limit, and the oldest clips clear themselves. Pinned and tagged clips are kept.
- Back up everything to one JSON file, or export selected clips as Markdown, CSV or text
The smaller things that matter
For the moments when a clipboard history could give too much away.
- QR to your phone — Ctrl+Q shows a clip as a QR code; nothing passes through a cloud or chat app
- Auto-delete — a one-time code disappears after 5 minutes, an hour, 8 hours or a day
- Retention per app — keep clips from
bank.exefor a day and everything else as usual - Your own detection rules — company token formats are encrypted and masked like built-in credentials
- It checks Win+V for you — Windows keeps its own list of everything you copy, and ClipVault says so on its security page instead of quietly being the second one
- Kept out of screen shares — by default ClipVault's windows do not appear in screen sharing, recordings or screenshots
- Cleared on lock — a credential ClipVault put on the clipboard is wiped when Windows locks or sleeps
- Locks when you step away — after an idle spell the history opens only once Windows Hello or your PIN says it is you
- One key puts it away — closes every ClipVault window, empties the clipboard and pauses recording; nothing is deleted
- Private mode — Ctrl+Shift+P stops recording for 15 minutes, an hour or until you resume
- You can check the promise — the console lists every outside request ClipVault ever made, and asks Windows whether the running file is still the one we signed
- Local audit log — exports, imports, deletions and revealed credentials, never the clip contents
- Portable mode — an empty
ClipVault.portablefile beside the exe keeps the history in that folder
A fast list, and a roomy console
Finding and pasting is one window; looking over everything and tidying it is another. Below are real screenshots.
Entries come grouped into Pinned, Today and the last 7 days, and each row carries its kind and the app it came from. The number on the left is the slot Alt+number pastes. A sensitive row shows 🔒 API key ●●●● instead of the value.
It narrows as you type. The middle of a word, any case, Hangul initials, file names and URLs all match.
Total entries, size, pinned and sensitive counts, and the last 14 days, on one screen. Ctrl+M opens it.
Skim everything as a table, filter by kind, and pin or delete many at once. The per-app tab shows which program each entry came from and lets you exclude it on the spot.
It shows what is actually in effect right now, not what the settings say. The same screen spells out what the encryption stops and what it does not.
You never need the mouse
The cursor sits in the search box when the window opens. Type, pick with the arrow keys, press Enter, done.
How it differs from Windows' own clipboard history
Win+V is a good built-in. ClipVault is for when you need what comes after it.
| Windows built-in (Win+V) | ClipVault | |
|---|---|---|
| How many it keeps | The last 25 | Your choice (10,000 by default) |
| After a restart | Only pinned items remain | Everything remains |
| Large images | Up to 4 MB | Your limit (large screenshots are scaled down) |
| Files copied in Explorer | Not recorded | Recorded as paths |
| Passwords and keys | Not treated differently | Encrypted with DPAPI and masked in the list |
| Snippets · tags · paste transformed | No | Yes |
| Organisation policy | History and sync on or off | 19 detailed rules (ADMX template included) |
| Where the data lives | Optionally synced across devices with a Microsoft account | On this PC only |
The built-in column describes Windows as Microsoft documents it and can differ between Windows versions.
The clipboard is the most private data you have
So ClipVault has no server, no account and no sync. It checks for new versions only if you turn that on.
Where the history lives
%LOCALAPPDATA%\ClipVault\
clips.db holds the text and the index, images\ the image cache, config.json the settings. Permission inheritance on that folder is broken deliberately, so it cannot widen when a parent folder's does. Delete the folder and that is that.
DisableExport policy turns exporting off.
Security: data flow, limits and how to report a vulnerability →
Group Policy template
ADMX with English and Korean ADML. Copy it into PolicyDefinitions (or the domain's central store) and it appears under Administrative Templates → ClipVault.
Something IT can control
For organisations that deploy through Group Policy or Intune, ClipVault reads policies that enforce its settings. Policies only ever make it stricter.
- The standard Windows policy location.
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\ClipVault— standard users cannot undo it. - 19 rules. No stored credentials, forced encryption, retention and item caps, excluded apps, export and update check off, and more.
- Only ever stricter. There is no policy that turns encryption off or switches a network feature on.
- Nothing hidden from the user. Locked settings are greyed out and the admin console lists the rules in force.
- No management server to install. No port to open, no data collected.
Common questions
How do I install it?
You don't. Put ClipVault.exe in any folder and run it: an icon appears in the tray and recording starts. To remove it, delete the file and the %LOCALAPPDATA%\ClipVault folder.
How do I start it with Windows?
Turn on “Run at Windows startup” in settings. It writes only to the current user's registry, so no admin rights are needed, and you can switch it off from the Startup tab in Task Manager.
What if Ctrl+Shift+V clashes with another program?
If the hotkey cannot be registered, the window says so at the bottom. Change it in settings to something like Ctrl+Alt+V and it registers again immediately.
Does it record what I copy from a password manager?
Mostly not. Password managers leave a standard “do not record” marker on the clipboard when they copy, and ClipVault honours it. For programs that leave no marker, add the executable name to the exclusion list in settings.
Do pasted images lose quality?
They are kept as lossless PNG, so the colours do not change. Very large screenshots are scaled down to the configured pixel limit (36 megapixels by default, enough for 8K).
Is the admin console a web address?
No, it is a window inside the app (Ctrl+M). Serving it in a browser would mean opening a port, and a port is something other machines can knock on. Your history is worth more than the convenience. So it is a window.
Does it phone home?
Only if you let it, and only to ask one question. On first run ClipVault asks whether it may check for new versions; say no and it never opens a connection. Say yes and once a day it asks the release page for a version number — no identifier, no request body, nothing about you. News and offers are a separate switch, off by default, and they appear only in the admin console, never in the popup. Both live in Settings and in Updates & news.
How do snippets work?
Right-click a clip and choose “Save as snippet”, or create one in Admin console → Snippets. Give it an abbreviation such as ;sig, then type that in the popup's search box and press Enter. {date}, {time} and {clipboard} are filled in as it pastes. Text that looks like a password is not saved as a snippet, because snippets are not encrypted.
Can I use it at work?
Clip contents never leave the PC and there is no management server. IT can enforce rules through Group Policy — no stored credentials, a retention cap, export turned off and so on. See For teams above.
Can I use it from the command line?
The bundled clipvault-cli.exe runs list, search, export, import, prune, stats, config, reindex, audit, doctor, snippet and tag.
Try it right now
Download it, run it, copy anything, then press Ctrl+Shift+V.
This build is not code-signed
Windows will warn about an unknown publisher. Only click “More info” → “Run anyway” if you got the file from a source you trust.